Good news from Cheltenham, where the council has changed its mind and will now pay for an 89-year-old couple – who have been married for 65 years – to live together in a care home. Last summer Gloucestershire County Council decided that Mr Richard Driscoll was eligible for a subsidised place in a care home in Cheltenham, but his wife Beryl was not, despite being blind and registered disabled. Mr Driscoll can't walk unaided and used to rely on his wife to help him around the house.
However good the professional care in their new home, and I'm sure it will be, it won't be as valuable as their care for each other. In spite of their difficulties, she will be his support, he will be her eyes. It's what happens when you've lived together for 65 years.
According to the BBC, a Council spokesperson said: "Mrs Driscoll's needs and wishes have changed since Social Services initially assessed her." Er, yes. Still, it worked out in the end.
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